Here's a link to the salmon Quebec's website where you'll find a lot of information about the rivers, the ZEC system, and fishing for Atlantic salmon in general: https://www.saumonquebec.com/en

On the stretches of rivers managed under the ZEC system : In order to fish in the best sectors during prime time (limited acces sectors) you need to enter the fall draw (wich occured last october...) or try your luck at the 48 hours draw but there's no guarantee that you'll get pick. The other option is to fish the open access sector. The action usually start later in theses open access sectors depending on the rivers (around mid july to the end of the season on september 15th).

On the parts of river managed by private lodges : All you need to do is contact them and make a reservation...and get ready to empty your wallet! The prices can range from 300$ to 1000$ canadian per day. On the other hand you can get accomodation, food, guide and exclusive fishing rights.

As for fishing on the Gaspé peninsula I've never fished there...I fish for Atlantic salmon on the north shore of the St-Lawrence river around Baie-Comeau. If you want to fish in crystal clear water the Bonaventure river is for you. The rivers on Anticosti island are also very clear.

The Cascapédia river is famous for the big Cascapédia buck salmons. The matapédia and Matane have high numbers of returning salmon every years as well as high number of anglers.

Another popular destination is the village of Gaspé wich is surrounded by three Atlantic salmon rivers (York, Darthmout and I forgot the third...).

The Gaspé peninsula is the most popular destination in Quebec for Atlantic salmon fishing so I can get very crowded, especially on the good pools in the open access sectors. Be prepared to get in line and wait your turn to do your drop. When there's 6-7 peoples fishing in one pool you can wait as long as 1 hour before you can fish your drop and then wait another hour before your next drop. On the other hand if you're looking for calm and solitude you could consider doing a fishing trip in the open access sectors of the rivers around here. Most of the time I'm all alone on my pool! What you'll get is less crowded fishing, real wilderness and cheaper access rights and accomodation. The downsides are the dark water wich make spotting the salmon harder, a 2 hours ferry ride or a detour via Quebec city to reach the area and the hordes of blackflies! (not that much of a problem after mid august)

Thanks for the info! The river I would be most interested in is the Matapedia. Does not seem to be a terribly long drive (3.5 hours), and good to know there are public access pools as well. I would love to hire a guide, but as you mentioned, a lot more money involved. An hour wait to fish would not be a problem. I remember years ago on the Penobscot, it was nothing to wait 3 to 4 hours for your turn in the rotation during the peak season. Would love to have a chance to fish Atlantics again.Thanks again, Alan.

If you are close enough, a visit Terry Walsh at the Flyfisherman's Place in Warren might be in order. I don't know if he still goes, but for a while Terry was fishing the Gaspe rivers pretty regularly. I think he was mostly fishing the eastern end--the York, Dartmouth, and other rivers over that way.

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